iJourneys

John Gough Photography

Autumn Multiple Exposures

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multiple exposures
Autumn Abstract/ John Gough / Canon EOS R

Lately because of the COVID restrictions I have had less opportunity for street photography. I don’t want to travel on a train to London, and I have decided that pubs and restaurants are off limits for me at the moment.

So I have been looking for different outlets for my photography. My first love, landscape photography is restricted because long road trips and overnight stays are out. So it is difficult to visit the Lake District and Scotland.

So I am going to go a bit abstract.

An Impression of Autumn

It is just coming into Autumn. The most beautiful time of year IMHO. The next six weeks or so are going to be just so amazing. What I want to do is photograph the leaves and the trees and the sky and capture the mood. The feeling of darkening days, and ripe fruit. Hunkering in, log fires, smoky chimney pots, mellow mists and the foreboding of winter. I want to create an impression of the Autumn I see.

As Joel Meyerowitz says:

‘Once you have a camera in your hand you have a license to see.’

Abstract allows a creative control. Some would say too much. However, the end result is unique to you. It may be crass, but it is your kind of crass. A camera can give you the license to see, but abstraction gives you the freedom to feel and express emotion.

Multiple Exposures

One of the most accessible ways of going abstract is to find the multiple exposure function on your camera. With this, you can create stunning abstracts in camera.

There are numerous videos that go into the technicals of ‘how to’ like this one.

You take several different images. These multiple exposures are then stored in the camera and merged to create a final image. Sounds complicated and technical, but it is not that difficult. Just have a go and experiment. Take 2, 3 or more images stacked on top of one another. See what works and carry on.

The most difficult part is finding Multiple Exposure on your camera’s menu!

The example above was taken in my local park. There are three exposures. Lengthening shadows on a white wall, autumn leaves and pine needles.

I think I will print my Autumn Abstracts. Stick them on a wall and then the next six weeks will be with me all winter

To see what you can achieve with this technique. Look no further than the work of Valda Bailey If you really want to get into Multiple Exposures then the Bailey Chinnery workshops are well worthwhile.

Now let’s get out there and enjoy the Autumn.

Pep Ventosa Technique

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Pep Ventosa Technique
Tree in Midsummer / John Gough / Canon EOS R

Pep Ventosa is a Catalan photographer who is known for his technique of creating impressionistic looking photography by taking multiple images of a subject and blending them together.

His series ‘In the Round’ featured trees which have become the lynchpin of his work. His photography, however, is now more diverse and includes urban landscapes, streetcars and street lamps.

When talking about his work he describes how:

The process mimics how we actually see: the eyes are constantly focusing on the specific details and elements of what’s in front of them and the brain then processes that visual information making the reconstruction so we perceive the world around us.

I have curated a selection of his images here.

The Pep Ventosa Technique

Pep Ventosa uses hundreds of images to create an artwork. Is it art or is it photography? He purposefully blurs the boundaries. Look at his series ‘New Faces from the Past’

Trying to replicate the technique is not easy. As my attempt above illustrates. It is not just a process of walking around a tree, taking photographs and putting them into layers in Photoshop.

A good place to start is with the glorious Glenys Garnett

Tips to Creating a Masterpiece

  • The subject has to be interesting enough to be deconstructed
  • Maintain a reference point on the subject for all the images. For example, I used the tree trunk in the image above. A 3×3 grid in the camera viewfinder is useful.
  • A wide angle lens is best to allow you to get closer to the subject.
  • I took twenty images in the image above.
  • Take jpgs rather than RAW to make it easier to manipulate later. Or do as I did convert them to jpg in Lightroom. Create a similar look and feel for each image and then export to Photoshop.
  • To transfer from Lightroom to Photoshop in one step. Select the images to be transferred in Lightroom: Photo>Edit In>Open as Layers in Photoshop.
  • In the layer stack in Photoshop I used a Normal blending mode with an opacity of 20%. The blending modes and opacity, however, depend on the effect that YOU want to produce.
  • Try keeping the camera fixed and moving the subject see below.
Pep Ventosa Technique
A Peony in a Gin Bottle / John Gough / Canon EOS 6D

Your Own Style

What is exciting about using the Pep Ventosa technique is that so much is down to trial and error, which means that your images will develop into your own style.

Beginners Guide to Photography

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Beginners Guide to Photography

 

I always thought I was a reasonable photographer. So a few years ago now I set off to the Lake District to take some magnificent landscapes. A few days alone with my camera would I thought nail some stunning images. It was a photographic pilgrimage which would turn into an epiphany.

I had a Canon EOS 450D with a kit lens and a map of the area. World beating shots would be easy. Perhaps I thought I could even win a competition.

The Result

The example above is the sort of thing I came back with.

I had been given a Landscape Photographer of the Year book which was my inspiration for this trip. However, my images did not bear any resemblance to the classy pictures in the book.

I had to make a decision. Should I ditch photography and take up bowls or gardening. Or should I immerse my self in photo geekery. Learn all I could and give it a go.

Beginners Guide to Photography

It was then I decided to change everything about my photography. To start again.

The list of what I needed to know was a long one. It would I know take me a long time. I set a goal to gain an LRPS from the Royal Photographic Society. This would be my benchmark.

It has been an iJourney ever since.

I was reminded of this tortuous period by corresponding with Joanna Thomas at Hobby Help. Her Ultimate Beginners Guide to Photography is just the sort of solid information I devoured in huge chunks during that time, and still do.

This book, How to Photograph Absolutely Everything: Successful Pictures from your Digital Camera was also very useful and a great start point. It is a bit dated now but no worse for that.

Where I Buy

I buy my equipment from Wex because of their exceptional customer service. I once returned a camera after 30 days, and the next day they called to return my money to my account. Their prices are always competitive and they offer good prices on the trade in of your used gear

Multiple Exposure

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Primitive Multiple Exposure / John Gough /Canon 6D

 

A week or so ago I attended a Bailey Chinnery workshop in Hastings. The workshop was run by Valda Bailey and Doug Chinnery. It concentrated more on the creative process of photography rather than technical information, and traditional composition etc.

This paragraph from their website sums up their approach:

So it is our goal that these new Creative Growth workshops will have a more intense focus on artistic development. We want to help you open your mind to think with greater freedom, develop your own style, forge your own path. It is our hope that they will facilitate your progress as an artist and you will come away creatively invigorated and inspired.

The workshop I attended was for one day and concentrated on creating abstract images in camera using multiple exposures, and Intentional Camera Movement (ICM). I was interested in using multiple exposures to create background layers in Photoshop. However, I was quickly impressed with the possibilities of creating multiple exposure images as pictures that stood upon their own.

How It Works

I don’t want to go into the technical bits. However, if like me you did not know if your camera even had multiple exposure functionality. Then follow this video:

Multiple exposure photography lays one image on top of another in camera. The camera software averages out the exposure values so that all layers are visible. It requires considerable skill to turn a set of random shots into a meaningful image.

The Creative Possibilities

There are endless possibilities to create shapes, abstracts and impressionist art, as this work by Valda Bailey illustrates.

There is a wonderful ‘in the moment’ quality about photographing a location in this way. Valda Bailey told us that she will spend at least an hour before she picks up her camera. I can understand why. It requires intense concentration to take several images in a sequence that will work together to form a finished photograph.

I have only been experimenting for a few days as you can see from the example at the top of the page. There is more work to do.

Rule of Thirds

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Crossed Lines / John Gough / Sony a6300

In photography why bother following the rules to be really creative?  Why not just throw away the rule book and create beautiful images?

However, breaking up is just so hard to do, and the Rule of Thirds is just so useful that you will never want to dispose of it. It is the first composition rule that most photographers learn, and the one they will use forever.

The Rule of Thirds has been used for centuries. By Leonardo da Vinci for example.

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds

Once you aware of the rule you will notice it countless times each day in photography, film and TV. Rarely does the subject of a photograph happily sit slap bang in the centre. Instead, it is usually more pleasing to place it one third in from the left or the right. Similarly with a horizon. In the centre would just split the image in two, a third from the top or bottom makes the image far more interesting.

Why does it work? It just does. The Rule of Thirds is one of the rules of nature.

Rachel across at Photography Talk has created a great guide on how to make it work in your photography. Check it out.